Microsoft and OpenAI Renegotiate Partnership Allowing Multi-Cloud Access Through 2032

Microsoft and OpenAI announced a renegotiated deal on Monday, April 27, 2026, that provides Microsoft with a non-exclusive license to OpenAI's intellectual property for models and products through 2032. The agreement designates Microsoft as OpenAI's primary cloud partner, with OpenAI products set to ship first on Azure unless Microsoft cannot or chooses not to support the necessary capabilities.

Under the new terms, OpenAI can serve all its products to customers across any cloud provider, eliminating Microsoft's previous exclusive rights.

TechCrunch reported that this deal resolves issues stemming from OpenAI's earlier agreement with Amazon, allowing OpenAI to fulfill commitments like co-developing stateful runtime technology on AWS Bedrock. Stateful runtime technology supports AI agents by enabling them to remember tasks and contexts for extended periods.

In the new arrangement, Microsoft can cease paying a revenue share to OpenAI, while OpenAI will continue paying revenue share to Microsoft through 2030, subject to a cap.

Last quarter, Microsoft reported that it made $7.5 billion in a single quarter from its investment in OpenAI. The deal allows OpenAI to run all of its products on other clouds, building on a prior agreement that permitted OpenAI to operate non-API-accessed products on alternative providers.

The Amazon CEO posted on X on April 27, 2026, celebrating the deal, adding that it meant OpenAI’s models would become available to customers on AWS Bedrock. The CEO wrote: 'Very interesting announcement from OpenAI this morning. We’re excited to make OpenAI's models available directly to customers on Bedrock in the coming weeks, alongside the upcoming Stateful Runtime Environment.

As part of that deal, OpenAI agreed to co-develop stateful runtime technology on AWS Bedrock with Amazon and promised AWS exclusive rights to serve OpenAI's new agent-making tool, Frontier. Microsoft's initial agreement with OpenAI had prevented OpenAI from selling Frontier exclusively on AWS, with Microsoft retaining exclusive rights to any OpenAI product accessed through an API, such as Frontier.

On the same day as the OpenAI-Amazon announcement, Microsoft stated that it maintains its exclusive license and access to intellectual property across OpenAI models and products. Microsoft also stated that Azure remains the exclusive cloud provider of stateless OpenAI APIs and that any stateless API calls to OpenAI models from collaborations with third parties, including Amazon, would be hosted on Azure.

Additionally, Microsoft said OpenAI’s first-party products, including Frontier, will continue to be hosted on Azure.

Microsoft's terms with OpenAI were in effect until OpenAI achieved AGI. The Financial Times reported that Microsoft even contemplated legal action if it had to enforce these contract terms. OpenAI agreed to purchase an additional $250 billion worth of Microsoft’s cloud services.

Separately, OpenAI and Amazon signed a multi-year agreement under which OpenAI contracted for $38 billion worth of AWS cloud. Microsoft had previously agreed to allow OpenAI to run certain select products, like consumer ChatGPT, on other cloud providers.

The new agreement builds on these adjustments, providing OpenAI with greater flexibility across cloud platforms while maintaining Microsoft's significant stake and revenue benefits.